Iflyforcash
11th Dec 2004, 13:34
http://www.courier-journal.com/business/news2004/12/10/D1-ups10-6518.html
Resumes fly in at UPS
1,400 apply for 100 pilot jobs at airline
Riad Chehab of Boca Raton, Fla., had a steady job and high seniority with Pinnacle Airlines, based in Memphis, Tenn.
But when Chehab learned in October that UPS would hire 100 pilots over the next year, he added his resume to 1,400 others flooding UPS Airlines in Louisville.
"It's the greatest opportunity of my life," said Chehab, one of 30 pilots hired so far. Even though it means starting again at the bottom of the seniority ladder ? with base first-year pay of just $26,000 ? UPS offers tremendous growth potential and stability, he said.
It was a similar story for Carlos Satulovsky of Phoenix, Ariz., who left America West Airlines. "I was pleased to already have a good job there with America West. Thousands of people out there are trying to get on with America West. But having the opportunity to come to UPS was something even greater."
Chehab and Satulovsky represent a dramatic turnaround in attitudes toward cargo pilots, said Mark Giuffre, a Louisville spokesman for UPS. In past years, "there was always this kind of cultural idea that flying passengers, that was kind of the prestigious job," he said.
That was before hard times hit many passenger airlines. Pilots at companies such as Delta and United saw pay cuts ? while those for carriers such as Pan Am and TWA saw their jobs disappear as the airlines went out of business.
Salaries at UPS and FedEx are now at the top of the industry, Giuffre said, and pilots "are working for a stable company that continues to give them advancement."
UPS has seen strong growth this year, especially in international operations. Last month it began 12 new flights to China, tripling the current service to 18 flights a week. Revenue rose 8 percent for the third quarter, and total worldwide volume grew by 3 percent.
New pilots for UPS face stiff challenges ? starting with the selection process and followed by months of training.
Fifteen pilots are at the company's flight-training center in Louisville this week. Another group of 15 will arrive next week. They study in the classroom for eight to nine weeks, poring over thick manuals and learning the details of the planes they will fly. "Every knob and switch and light on this airplane, we have to learn," Satulovsky said.
John Becker, 39, of Payson, Ariz., left his job as a pilot with America West. "We're in this class from 8 till 5. We get home. We have a little meal," he said. "We've got homework. We've got reading. We've got performance calculations to do. We've got reading for the next morning. I went to bed at midnight last night."
The pilots will take to the air in five to six months, Giuffre said. They are paid during training ? but the wages for their first year are meager compared with what they will earn later. In their second year, base pay more than doubles to $58,000. After 12 years, if they advance to the rank of captain, they will earn at least $185,250 a year.
First-year pay is "rather low because they are really going through all that training at that time," Giuffre said. Many earn more money that year by taking on overtime, once flying duty begins, he said.
Still, beginning wages are shameful, argues the pilots' union, the Louisville-based Independent Pilots Association. The pay for new pilots hasn't gone up since the end of 1991.
"We're paid even less than the drivers and the mechanics who work on our aircraft," said IPA spokesman Brian Gaudet. A first-year driver makes $32,508, he said, while a mechanic earns $43,680.
The 2,500-member IPA has not been able to negotiate for more money for the beginning pilots because they are not represented by the union until they begin their second year with UPS, he said. "The union's position is that even though they are not our guys, it's still sort of morally wrong."
Giuffre disagreed, saying the first-year salary is part of the pay package negotiated with the pilots' union.
Despite the low initial pay, many pilots are eager to make the jump to UPS, Satulovsky said. "A friend of mine is with Continental for seven years, and he wants to see if I can help him come to UPS. ... That's how good a company this is."
The IPA is still negotiating with UPS toward a new contract, but talks aren't affected by the large pool of pilots eager for a chance to work with UPS, the union and company agree.
"Unfortunately there are a lot of furloughed pilots out there," Gaudet said. "Our contract is independent of all that."
See also:
http://www.browncafe.com/ups.shtml
http://www.airlinepilotpay.com/ups/ups.htm
Resumes fly in at UPS
1,400 apply for 100 pilot jobs at airline
Riad Chehab of Boca Raton, Fla., had a steady job and high seniority with Pinnacle Airlines, based in Memphis, Tenn.
But when Chehab learned in October that UPS would hire 100 pilots over the next year, he added his resume to 1,400 others flooding UPS Airlines in Louisville.
"It's the greatest opportunity of my life," said Chehab, one of 30 pilots hired so far. Even though it means starting again at the bottom of the seniority ladder ? with base first-year pay of just $26,000 ? UPS offers tremendous growth potential and stability, he said.
It was a similar story for Carlos Satulovsky of Phoenix, Ariz., who left America West Airlines. "I was pleased to already have a good job there with America West. Thousands of people out there are trying to get on with America West. But having the opportunity to come to UPS was something even greater."
Chehab and Satulovsky represent a dramatic turnaround in attitudes toward cargo pilots, said Mark Giuffre, a Louisville spokesman for UPS. In past years, "there was always this kind of cultural idea that flying passengers, that was kind of the prestigious job," he said.
That was before hard times hit many passenger airlines. Pilots at companies such as Delta and United saw pay cuts ? while those for carriers such as Pan Am and TWA saw their jobs disappear as the airlines went out of business.
Salaries at UPS and FedEx are now at the top of the industry, Giuffre said, and pilots "are working for a stable company that continues to give them advancement."
UPS has seen strong growth this year, especially in international operations. Last month it began 12 new flights to China, tripling the current service to 18 flights a week. Revenue rose 8 percent for the third quarter, and total worldwide volume grew by 3 percent.
New pilots for UPS face stiff challenges ? starting with the selection process and followed by months of training.
Fifteen pilots are at the company's flight-training center in Louisville this week. Another group of 15 will arrive next week. They study in the classroom for eight to nine weeks, poring over thick manuals and learning the details of the planes they will fly. "Every knob and switch and light on this airplane, we have to learn," Satulovsky said.
John Becker, 39, of Payson, Ariz., left his job as a pilot with America West. "We're in this class from 8 till 5. We get home. We have a little meal," he said. "We've got homework. We've got reading. We've got performance calculations to do. We've got reading for the next morning. I went to bed at midnight last night."
The pilots will take to the air in five to six months, Giuffre said. They are paid during training ? but the wages for their first year are meager compared with what they will earn later. In their second year, base pay more than doubles to $58,000. After 12 years, if they advance to the rank of captain, they will earn at least $185,250 a year.
First-year pay is "rather low because they are really going through all that training at that time," Giuffre said. Many earn more money that year by taking on overtime, once flying duty begins, he said.
Still, beginning wages are shameful, argues the pilots' union, the Louisville-based Independent Pilots Association. The pay for new pilots hasn't gone up since the end of 1991.
"We're paid even less than the drivers and the mechanics who work on our aircraft," said IPA spokesman Brian Gaudet. A first-year driver makes $32,508, he said, while a mechanic earns $43,680.
The 2,500-member IPA has not been able to negotiate for more money for the beginning pilots because they are not represented by the union until they begin their second year with UPS, he said. "The union's position is that even though they are not our guys, it's still sort of morally wrong."
Giuffre disagreed, saying the first-year salary is part of the pay package negotiated with the pilots' union.
Despite the low initial pay, many pilots are eager to make the jump to UPS, Satulovsky said. "A friend of mine is with Continental for seven years, and he wants to see if I can help him come to UPS. ... That's how good a company this is."
The IPA is still negotiating with UPS toward a new contract, but talks aren't affected by the large pool of pilots eager for a chance to work with UPS, the union and company agree.
"Unfortunately there are a lot of furloughed pilots out there," Gaudet said. "Our contract is independent of all that."
See also:
http://www.browncafe.com/ups.shtml
http://www.airlinepilotpay.com/ups/ups.htm